not much different than china’s “social credit” it seems
I know a guy who’s a multimillionaire. He came up from nothing and always had the mindset that if you have to finance it, you can’t afford it. A few years ago, he wanted to purchase an apartment complex, but was short by something like $500,000. He tried to get a loan, but the bank wouldn’t give him one because he had no credit. Instead, he sold two of his supercars to cover the difference and bought the complex.
That’s a lie. Someone who has millions in dollars in assets the bank would just ask for some form of collateral. They wouldn’t rely on a fucking fico score. Also it would be a company owning everything, not a person. You’ve literally made all this up in the most stupid way possible.
I refuse to participate in this and I have no idea what my credit score is.
I bought my land and house through owner finance, my debt was to a single individual. No banks involved, no credit check. Obviously this isn’t always an option, but it still is an option in some cases, and it’s a damn valuable option when it does present itself.
I buy used cars only, either through owner finance or paid in full. No banks.
I have never had a loan from a bank.
I bought my land and house through owner finance, my debt was to a single individual.
That’s cool and all, but it isn’t practical if the person selling you the house also has a mortgage they need to pay off before moving. Shy of paying in cash, there’s not a home in my city of Houston I could have managed that with.
I buy used cars only, either through owner finance or paid in full. No banks.
I mean, that’s totally cool. But, again, it requires you to have a significant amount of cash on-hand and someone willing to sell a decent vehicle at a reasonable price. Possible, but certainly not trivial. And with the sheer number of dealerships and resellers and outright scammers in the business, its a minefield.
I have never had a loan from a bank.
Its certainly nice to have enough cash on hand to manage this trick. But good luck going to college without a parent’s savings. Even city colleges charge you far more than a part-time high school diploma job brings in.
I did know a couple of people who were born into relative poverty and managed to be totally unbanked while having a relatively easy time of it. But they were both sex workers. Not a career for the faint of heart.
I mean, again, obviously it’s not an option all the time. Just use common sense
As for the other points, I don’t think this comment really required someone to come through and cite it and break it down like I was some sort of Jordan Peterson esque life advice coach. I was giving my personal experience on not using the credit system, simply explaining how I personally have avoided the subject, and making the claim that there are other avenues. It’s not an essay, my dude. I’m not trying to sell anything to you. Again, just use common sense.
I just proved its possible, not that it’s feasible for YOU. Again, not trying to sell you anything
Just use common sense
I don’t think the issue is an absence of sense. What we’ve got is a massive asset bubble that benefits the financial sector. Very often, there simply isn’t a good choice to make. You’re either living in a slum at inflated costs or you’re stuck living way out in the exurbs (where you’ll be burning through your expensive car) or even potentially homeless.
You can be up to your eyeballs in debt despite making the “savvy” move at every turn.
Unpopular opinion, not really opinion but…
Credit score system is designed for the people with money to allow you to borrow that money. It’s based on a curve system so… If your at the bottom of the list is because 99% of the population is better than you at learning how to play the score system. Tldr: the score system was not designed with me in mind.
I don’t know if it works differently in the US but the best way to build your credit score is to not take on debt.
Keeping your credit utilization low and not missing any payments is the key. It’s an indication of how likely you are to meet the payments.
If you max your credit cards out and just pay the minimum amount, carrying thousands of dollars of debt and as a result can’t get a mortgage or a car loan because your credit score is shit then the system is working as expected.
I don’t know if it works differently in the US but the best way to build your credit score is to not take on debt.
The best way to build a score is to take out small amounts of debt and repay them in a timely fashion. But you’re still better off with a car note than without. You’re still better off with a credit card than without. You want an optimal number of data points for the system to track. And you want a history clear of missed payments.
Without that data history, it becomes very difficult to secure apartment space or access anything other than student credit. And, because you absolutely need a car and an apartment if you want to exist in America in anything close to comfort, that means you functionally need a credit score.
Yeah I want to emphasize this too. It doesn’t “require you to take debt”, it checks to see if you pay your debts on time. If you carry a $5 credit card bill and pay it next month that has a positive effect. If you don’t pay that it doesn’t matter how much it is, you missed a payment, that’s a negative. You don’t have to have a bunch of loans to have a good credit score, you have to pay your bills.
Thats why having a credit card can be good for your credit score because you are effectively borrowing money until the end of the month, then paying it back. That signals on your credit score “hey this person borrows $1000 a month, and pays it back every time. They’re a reliable borrower”
It really is crazy to look at someone’s financial history to figure out how much money to lend them and at what rate…and whether they have any income to pay it back, fucking fascists!!!
Your credit score actually goes down when you pay off and close accounts. Which would indicate you’re very financially responsible and will pay your debts off.
The reason is because a credit score is not about whether you will pay your debts and are financially responsible. It’s actually configured to be a score of how much money a lender can make from you. If they can’t profit from you, they don’t want to lend to you. So the score goes down.
If it was a score of financially reliable and stable you are, then it would be much more welcomed.
At some level, its just another aspect of the surveillance state.
“Oh, you want to buy a car? Show me your credit card statements. Show me every place you’ve ever lived. Tell me the name of your spouse, so I can interrogate that person as well.”
I might not even call it fascist, per say. Its more feudal. Some aristocrat demanding your life story before he lets you onto his fields to work a plow.
And all because these necessities of life are so expensive that nobody can just pay cash in hand for them anymore.